Fight or Flight
by Simple-Minded-Mockingjay
Summary: Kyle and Jodi are on the run with Ian and his best friend, their home is no longer safe and they are clinging to the hope there are still some humans out there... but will they find them, or will they have to hide for what's left of their lives?
1. Chapter 1

Fight or flight: the instinct that rules us all in times of confrontation. I like to think I'm the fighting type but in reality that's more like Kyle's thing. My name is Jodi, I'm 19 years old and I'm terrified. I'm scared for the future; if there will even be a future for us. Things are changing, people are changing all around me and I fear that soon we will have to fight or flee for our lives.

Today should have been my graduation but instead I'm in a car gunning it down the highway away from everyone I've ever known. Kyle is trying to explain that we're not leaving our families or friends because they're already lost and there is no way to bring them back.

"Remember that movie 'Body Snatchers'?" he asks not taking his eyes off the road. I can see moisture welling up in his eyes and look away, I know he wouldn't want me to know he is crying. "Well it's kinda like that: they may look the same but it's not them"

"Kyle, you know I fell asleep during that movie" I joke, trying to break the tension building up in the car. Usually any feeble attempt at humour from me would make Kyle smile but today his mind is too far away.

_Idiot! _I scold myself.

Kyle's little brother and his friend Stu are asleep in the back of the car, they're only 16 and yet everyone they love is gone. We're all too young for this; too young not too have any chance at a future.

We've been driving for little over an hour when I fall asleep… and I dream. What a silly thing to do in the midst of the apocalypse.

_It's a lazy summer afternoon, the bright sun lights up the azure of the sky, not a single cloud to interrupt the blue. I'm 16 years old, I'm lying on the grass and Kyle is by my side. We're in Kyle's back yard; his kid brother is chasing his dad around the yard with a supersoaker. Kyle laughs out loud as his dad takes a jet of water to the face. He doesn't know how much I envy him and his perfect family. They're like 'The Brady Bunch'. Right on cue his mum comes out with a pitcher of homemade lemonade and a plate of cookies._

"_Get 'em while they're hot" she calls._

_It's an un-extraordinary day, an un-extraordinary memory, but I would give anything to live here for the rest of my life._

Just as I decide this I'm dragged from the memory back to the present. It is so dark. For a brief moment I think I must have dreamt the last 24 hours, but then I feel Kyle's strong arms wrapped around me and it all comes rushing back. I groan.

"Hey there sleepy head" Says a voice from the back seat. I can hear the smile in that voice before I see it.

"Hey Ian" I yawn as he switches on a dim orange lamp. Ian is the spitting image of his big brother, smaller and slighter and with less of a temper, but identical in every other way: dark hair, slim nose, pale skin and sky blue eyes… Just like Kyle. "You're one to talk, you were snoring hours before I fell asleep." I stick my tongue out teasingly.

"Josie?" Kyle whispers as he begins to stir.

"Yeah?" I turn towards him just in time to see his quick analysis of his surroundings. His face falls.

"Damn… for just a second I hoped I'd dreamed this whole mess" he sighed.

"Same here" Ian said mournfully.

"Me too"

"And Me…" Stu whispered, barely audible even in the confined space of the car. I look at the boy in front of me. He is rail thin with sandy blonde hair that falls over his eyes. He looks so frail sat next to Ian.

"So where exactly are we?" I ask partly out of curiosity but mostly to draw attention away from Stu who looks on the verge of tears.

"Somewhere in the Inyo National Forrest, I didn't know where would be safe so I thought it was best to stay off the beaten track" Kyle explained.

"So where are we headed exactly?" Ian asked after a long pause.

"Wherever there are still humans"

"What if there are no humans left though?"

"There has to be-"

"But if there aren't-"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Kyle bellowed "I just don't know."


	2. Chapter 2

As the sun begins to rise over the peaks of the surrounding mountains I'm struck by the simple beauty of our hiding place. Why did it take the end of the world to get me out of the city? I would be happy to stay in this pocket of peaceful beauty until I grew old and died… but Kyle has other ideas.

"It's time to move on." He says, his tone saying what his mouth isn't: _I'm not in the mood to argue about this. _Ian pipes up anyway.

"But we're safer here than on the roads, the parasites will be checking cars, looking for escaping humans. We _should_ stay here." Ian argues.

"This forest is too well known, too much of a landmark. We were safe in the dark but in the day we're too conspicuous here. We have to move. We have to find more humans."

"Wait, your problem with this place is it's a tourist attraction? Yeah, cause the aliens will be taking a day off invading for a nice forest trail! You can't be serious." He laughs without any real humour.

"I'm deadly serious Ian, get in the damn car!"

"To head right into the aliens hands, I don't think so!"

"Ian I…"

"SHUT IT" Screams Stu. Both brothers are stunned into silence, I'm sure even Ian has never heard Stu speak above a quiet murmur. "How can you talk to each other like that? Do you have any idea how lucky you both are? Or what I would give to have a single member of my family here with me? But my family are all dead…" his voice catches and I'm sure he is going to cry. Ian walks to him and pulls him into an awkward embrace. Stu's sobs are muffled but even so I can hear the agony of his loss, a loss he should have never had to face.

I find myself in that moment pondering why? Why earth? Why didn't they skip this tiny planet and go somewhere else?

"Listen," I say with shaky uncertainty "I think Iain is right." Kyle growls as if I'd betrayed him; he never has liked to be wrong. "We should be safe here, at least for a few days. The aliens are in full on invasion mode, they won't be taking a nature hike or going bird watching any time soon, so I say let's enjoy this safe haven… while we still can? Okay?"

Kyle murmurs in agreement, as does Stu, while Ian grins at having won the argument. I often feel sorry for Ian, he's incredibly bright but Kyle still thinks of him as the kid brother who once ate a slug. He can't see that Ian has grown up or that he can be useful in a crisis. Kyle is smart too, in a less bookish way, but he lets his stubbornness cloud his judgement. I may be his best friend but that doesn't mean I'll sugar-coat him or his bad points.

"So?" Asks Ian, breaking the awkward silence that has been brewing. "Who's up for a swim?"

Before anyone can answer he's off, running towards the water, stripping to his underwear as he runs. I can't help but start running too… what is the point of denying myself these simple pleasures when the world is ending?

"C'mon Kyle" Ian shouts before he dives in head first. He surfaces, laughing the carefree laugh that I think only Ian could still laugh at this point. "The water is great!"

"Damn it…" he sighs and within a few short seconds he's overtaken me. He cannon balls into the water making one of those splashes only boys can really make, the type that sends a 2 foot wave to the bank. Then I'm in too, far too exhilarated to care about the cold. Stu just stands at the water's edge.

"Er… I think I'll go get some fire wood, we don't want you guys freezing to death." he says so quietly I have to strain to hear him.

"Isn't a fire a bit, you know, conspicuous?" I ask.

"Not if we light it at sunset, it's too hard to see the smoke and with the red sun no one would notice the fire"

"Where on earth did you learn that?"

"Discovery channel, what do you think nerds like me do all day?"

Before I can answer he sets off. Kyle turns to Ian and asks what I've been thinking.

"Is it just me or has that kid gotten quieter?"

"He's probably embarrassed; I've never heard him shout like that, not even during a really intense game of D and D"

"D and D?"

"Dungeons and Dragons…" I stare blankly at Ian who looks almost as if I've slapped him. "You've never heard of Dungeons and Dragons?" I shrug. "God! Kyle how can you possibly be obsessed with a girl who doesn't know what D and D is?"

Kyle and I blush in unison as Ian realises what he's said. He tries to take it back.

"Not that you're obsessed… obviously… you two are, you know, like family… well not like _Family _but… you know close… I'll leave you guys alone now" he trudges out of the water and goes into the trees to dry off and change. We sit in an awkward silence for a while. I know I should say something, make a joke or anything but it's like my brain is no longer connected to my mouth. It's Kyle who breaks the silence.

"Maybe we should get out too" he says, the tips of his ears still a little red from the blush. "I have a surprise for you… for everyone really."

Once we've towelled off and Stu returns he and Kyle set about making a fire. Ian rummages in the trunk of the car and comes up with his guitar which he tunes while Kyle loses his temper trying to get "the damn thing" to light. Stu takes over and within a minute gentle flames rise from the kindling. Kyle huffs as he sits next to me on a fallen log, he never has liked being beaten at anything. I suppose that was what made him such a great quarterback back when things like that mattered, his motto on the field was _never give in, failure is not an option. _Could it really be just a week since I sat on the bleachers and watched him win the championship? It feels like years ago, another lifetime.

"So what is this surprise then?" I ask to distract him from his sulking.

He grins. "I'm very glad you asked, I'd almost forgotten" And without a word of explanation he stands and heads over to the car.

"Ian?" I ask "Do you know what this is all about"

He winks to let me know he's in on it, and Stu half smiles in my direction. So everyone knows but me. Kyle suddenly emerges from the car with arms full of marshmallows and crackers.

"SMORES?" I squeak. I'm suddenly acting like a five year old! I leap at him and practically snatch the bags from him in my excitement. "How on earth did you get this stuff?"

"When we packed up what we could we took all the food from the treehouse so almost all the food we have is junk: Chips, chocolate, candy. The only thing even close to food is beef jerky" I giggle trying not to worry about our food situation or what would happen when the limited supply ran out.

So we do what any kids would do, we have a bonfire. Ian plays guitar and we sing, we feast on smores and laugh at cheesy jokes. We tell horror stories in the fire light… weird considering we're living a horror story these days. Then as the sun drops out of the sky we extinguish our fire, head to the car and try to sleep. For a brief moment I forget myself, forget where we are and what a mess the world is and think _today was the perfect day. _Only to remember that noting is perfect or is ever likely to be again.


End file.
